(And let not thy hand be chained to thy neck…) [17:29]. Abu’l-Hasan Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Imran informed us> Abu ‘Ali ibn Ahmad al-Faqih> Abu ‘Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Isma‘il al-Mahamili> Zakariyya ibn Yahya al-Darir> Sulayman ibn Sulayman al-Juhani> Qays ibn al-Rabi‘> Abu Ishaq> Abu’l-Ahwas> ‘Abd Allah who said: “A boy came to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: ‘My mother asks you to give her this and that’. He said to him: ‘We do not have anything today’. The boy said: ‘She is asking you to give her your gown’. He took off his gown, gave it to him and remained in his house denuded. Allah, glorified and exalted is He, then revealed (And let not thy hand be chained to thy neck nor open it with a complete opening…)”. Said Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah: “As the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was sitting with his Companions, a boy came to him and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, my mother asks you for a gown’. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, did not have any gown except the one he was wearing, and so he said to the boy: ‘Things turn up from time to time, so come back to us another time’. He went to his mother and informed her but she said to him: ‘Tell him that my mother asks you for the gown you are wearing’. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, went inside his house, took off his gown and gave it to the boy and remained there naked. When Bilal called for the prayer, people waited for the Prophet, Allah bless him and give, to emerge and lead them in prayer but he did not come out. The Companions became worried. One of them entered in on him and found him naked. Allah, glorious and exalted is He, then revealed (And let not thy hand be chained to thy neck nor open it with a complete opening)”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou
